What’s Bothering Me: WM Without Taker, Tough Enough, Rock

WrestleMania Without The Undertaker

This Monday in Dallas, I'm hoping for some sort of sign that The Undertaker will participate at this year's WrestleMania. The idea of him not being there is beginning to depress me the more I think about the resulting consequences.

Rock vs Cena II, I can live with all day. Punk being added to the match is still the ideal route to take as it provides the least predictability, plus it just makes sense in my mind. That being said, the "Twice in a Lifetime" we're going to receive will sell the pay per view and make for a satisfying main event.

Beyond that, things start to get scary without Taker involvement. Lesnar vs HHH II has absolutely no appeal for me. Lesnar gains very little by beating a part-time Hunter again, yet would be crushed if he somehow loses the match. And as far as the match itself is concerned, it wasn't all that great the first time, so I can't expect that to make up for the weak creative circumstances surrounding it.

Where Punk fits without Undertaker, I have no idea, but I can't imagine it being better than the "vs Streak" match expected.

Del Rio might not be facing Swagger anymore, and that's a plus in my opinion, but WWE never gives us a reason to care much about the WHC match anyway. And Ziggler cashing in isn't guaranteed, nor can it be advertised, so that doesn't help us in advance.

There's still time, so I'm not pulling any hair out yet, but not having Undertaker at WrestleMania this year will certainly prove more challenging than one might have thought. Plus, it really puts things into perspective when you consider future WrestleMania's without the annual Streak match.